“Christmas Oratorio,” “Four Seasons” on tap in Music of the Baroque’s 2018-19 season

Mon Feb 26, 2018 at 12:01 am

By Lawrence A. Johnson

Harry Bicket will be a guest conductor in Music of the Baroque’s 2018-19 season.

Music of the Baroque’s first season under new executive director Declan McGovern will largely continue the mix of populist favorites and offbeat items of MOB’s recent seasons.

The 2018-19 season will open September 15 and 16 with the surefire box-office bait of Mozart’s Requiem. Jane Glover conducts with soloists, soprano Amanda Majeski, mezzo Daniella Mack, tenor Jonas Hacker and bass-baritone Eric Owens. Handel Coronation Anthems (Nos. 1, 3 and 4) will be heard on the first half.

The inescapable Four Seasons of Vivaldi will be heard November 4 and 5 with concertmaster Gina DiBello as violin soloist. Less overplayed works make up the rest of Nicholas Kraemer’s program, with Telemann’s Wassermusik and a suite from Rameau’s Platee.

The annual Mozart January concerts will feature the “Gran Partita” wind serenade and the Piano Concerto No. 27 with soloist Angela Hewitt (January 26 and 27).

In a welcome bit of podium variety, Harry Bicket will return as guest conductor March 3 and 6, marking the Baroque specialist’s first MOB appearance in 15 years. Bicket’s program, titled “The Grand Tour,” offers music of Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau and Dall’Abaco.

Soprano Joélle Harvey makes her MOB debut in a Bach and Haydn program March 31 and April 2, led by Glover. In addition to Bach’s “Coffee” Cantata and Orchestral Suite No. 2, Glover will lead the orchestra in two Haydn’s symphonies, No. 59 (“Fire”) and No. 22 (“The Philosopher”).

The season concludes with Nicholas Kraemer leading a varied vocal program that includes Handel’s Dixit Dominus, Bach’s Cantata No. 131, excerpts from Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and Albinoni’s Concerto in G for two oboes.

The theme for the annual Brass and Choral program (December 13-16) will be “Baroque Christmas Around the World,” and conducted by chorus master William Jon Gray.

Subscriptions are now on sale for the 2018-19 Music of the Baroque season. Go to baroque.org or call 312-551-1414. Single tickets will go on sale July 15.